Rate Mikel Wallschlaeger

I appreciate that you are taking your valuable time to learn about how I can help you. Let’s start with how folks that I have treated rate my level of care, and for several years they have consistently scored their delivery and quality of care as excellent. Aside from this, you probably want to know what it feels like to experience therapy with me. Over the course of counseling people for 13 years, it is often the case that people will say that their counseling is exceedingly warm, kind, gentle, flexible, understanding, and compassionate. They also say that they feel cared for, unjudged and positive about their counseling experiences. Why is this so? Because I am passionate about you and your care; resolving your pain and achieving your counseling goals during treatment sessions. Earlier in life, I had a chapter where I personally sought counseling. That experience was so positive and impactful that I would like to help you realize those same outcomes. That is that I achieved peace, contentment, wholeness, wellness, and happiness, and I am passionate about moving you to a point where you feel the same way.

You might wonder who I have treated. For over a decade, I have worked with adults. I treat young adults, middle aged adults, and older adults. They live in metropolitan areas, semi-rural, and rural areas. Ethnically, I have spent considerable time counseling African Americans, and I would like to think that my training and sensitivity has prepared me to work with ethnically diverse cultures. I work with men and women. I have treated blue color workers, the homeless, professionals, and all other people who fall along the socioeconomic spectrum. I have also worked with the chronically ill, people suffering from grief, and people who reside in hospice.

I am a generalist, so I think that it is fair to say that I can treat you if you suffer from the symptoms associated with the following problems. I am able to treat you if you suffer from relational problems, depression, anxiety, have mood swings, compulsive behaviors, physical pain, chronic illnesses or if you need to make end of life decisions or are experiencing excessive grief. If you suffer from neurocognitive, sleep, disruptive and impulse control disorders or physiological problems associated with anxiety and other problems, I can treat the symptoms associated with these issues.

I can also treat you if you are sketching out a map that will help you resolve problems if you are facing a difficult life transition. If you are looking to change your career; want to make a thoughtful and fulfilling career choice; want to return to the job market, then I can support these needs in therapy.

I can also treat you if you want me to increase your ability to cope with the following issues. If you need to learn more about how to manage your anger, resolve your family conflicts, increase your self-esteem, or want to build on your interpersonal skills to repair your relationships, then I can accomplish these goals with you clinically. I can also treat your isolation and loneliness. If you are seeking stress and pain management, or you want to increase your self-development and awareness, I can address these needs in counseling also. While I cannot say that I am a Christian counselor, I have been known to reference Christian scripture and materials for those who seek hope, connection, relief, meaning and purpose, and other positives associated with practicing this type of therapy. If this is not your brand of support, I will be very sensitive to this and approach your counseling with this in mind.

If you have stuck with me so far, I appreciate your continued interest in exploring how I can compassionately and wisely care for you to overcome the issues and problems that you seek to resolve in treatment. I have referenced treatment several times, so you probably wonder what this is. Fair enough. Together we will determine what approach is going to maximize your treatment goals.

So, if you suffer from much above intense emotional reactions that damage your relationships then it is highly likely that you and I would practice Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) in treatment. DBT provides you with an opportunity to build skills that help you manage your painful emotions, decrease conflict in your relationships, and increases your tolerance for others who trouble you. If you suffer from depression and the bipolar disorders then it is likely that you will attain relief practicing this therapy.

Another therapy that you and I might practice in treatment is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). Simply, this means that your negative thoughts and beliefs causes your distress and problems. Now, reversing this thinking, changing your negative beliefs, and decreasing your tendency to impulsively react to your negative thoughts relieves your suffering. There are several tools that are available to you, and that change your negative thinking, and these include journaling, challenging beliefs, practicing Mindfulness and self-compassion, relaxation, and processing social, physical, and thinking exercises. If you suffer from symptoms associated with bipolar disorder, depression, anxiety, anger, panic attacks, and phobias then we would consider practicing this therapy together so that you could achieve your treatment goals. If you want to improve your decision making skills then it is highly likely that you and I would practice CBT during your treatment sessions.

I also practice Mindfulness, and if you and I practiced this in therapy then it is highly likely that your level of wellness, peace, calmness, awareness of self and compassion for others would increase. If you asked me to decrease your stress and your physical and mental pain then I would have you practice Mindfulness. You’ll also gain the ability to attain happiness and control despite living in a “catastrophic” world. The primary benefit of practicing Mindfulness to you, is that it stops you from immediately reacting to emotionally challenging, negative, and stressful situations. Practicing Mindfulness gives you a chance to slow down and not react impulsively. Practicing Mindfulness in therapy will likely reduce the pain that is associated with your relational problems, grief, catastrophic illness, life transitions, stress, depression, and anxiety. If it is that you are seeking career counseling, then practicing Mindfulness will meet this need.

The last therapy that I specialize in is Positive Psychology. Practicing Positive Psychology allows you to explore and identify for yourself the what, where, how, and why of personal positivity. This will allow you to succeed and flourish. In part, this is achieved by your taking an assessment that identifies your core strengths and building a life and treatment plan that allows you to realize these strengths in work, play, lifestyle, and several other areas in your life. If you are seeking this type of counseling, you might be working through a difficult life transition or desire career counseling, or both. Positive Psychology can help you to facilitate your own growth; lessen your boredom in your life; decrease your anxiety and depression, or rediscover your purpose and meaning in life. If you suffer from loneliness and isolation and want to decrease these feelings then you and I can practice Positive Psychology to achieve these goals.

By now you probably have a good picture of how I can help you solve the problems you are struggling with. You are now aware that I will do all that I can to develop a compassionate, non-judgmental, caring, safe and warm psychological place where you can work out your problems. You know who it is I treat, and what therapies I practice. You also know that I am passionate about treating you and moving you to a place where you “can realize the best you;” find peace, transcend your problems, pain, sadness and fears; find yourself; improve your wellness, increase your positive feelings, and realize the goals that are spelled out in your treatment plan. You can also expect that your treatment and the accomplishment of your goals will be guided by values based in dignity, respect, sensitivity, independence, commitment, empowerment, and sincerity. If all of this appeals to you, then I urge you to contact me so that we can quickly collaborate and decide what to do to solve your problems and relieve the suffering and pain associated with them.